Sixpoint Black Market Porter (Carob Porter)

Pours extremely dark. I had stepped outside and walked back in to find there was no head on the beer, but there was also some empty space at the top of my glass, so I can assume there was something there and it dropped pretty quickly. Nose was there, nothing crazy. But mild coffee with a touch of hops. After seeing that this is a.k.a. Carob Porter, it all makes a bit more sense to me. I was getting some very sweet and earthy kind of character on this one and it just struck me funny. But now it makes sense - carob. I feel like I did get a fair amount of carob, but nothing that really high-jacked the whole experience. Malts were also there. Feel was decent. Seemed a bit low on the bubble and a bit thin on the liquid, but maybe the cask had something to do with that? Either way, it was still very smooth. Overall very drinkable. I totally dug it and might not go for it again on cask, but would be interested to see what it was like on-tap.

Cask samples at ABF on 6/16/07
Nearly transparent, but for a slight haziness, the body is a light brown mix of soft mahogany and light tan hues. Beige head sits atop with moderate retention and light lacing.
A beautiful mix of wood-smoked nuttiness and easygoing chocolate mixes with a stronger hint of Spanish coffee-like character. Pale malts add vanilla/honey and a chocolate-peanut-caramel character is achieved, drying out on the finish to become lightly roasty, but keeping a moderate amount of malt sweetness. Big, thick, rich aroma, that despite its strength, never seems overdone. Definitely seems like a mix between a brown and robust porter, with the better qualities of each, IMHO (the sweet, soft maltiness of the former, with the nutty, roasty, chocolatey complexity of the latter).
Peanut brittle, mixed with toffee and milk chocolate seems to be my best approximation of the flavor, with a deliciously chewy, fully malty, rich body. Carbonation is still ample and the attenuation is done well, with no fatiguing sweetness building up. Roasty, heavily nutty carob-like flavors add complexity and give it some uniqueness. Shane’s malting is always impressive and this is one of his best. Easy-drinking for sure, with only perhaps a bit too much nuttiness and light breadiness to complain about.

I had this at the Sixpoint Brewery, during the tour, and I thought it was very good in a dubbel-meets-Sixpoints way. I believe its creation was explained as a novelty and they just went with it after tasting it.

Tap at Barcade. Dark brown, ruby tinted beer with a creamy tan head. Aroma is really lovely with sweet caramel, chocolate and a soft roasted coffee character as well. Some nice complexity in the grain bill that went into this one. A chewy earthiness helps back up the sweet toasty/caramelly maltiness. Flavour is also quite sweet and malty with lots of caramel and sweet lightly roasted coffee as well. A bit of a herbal earthy component throughout that serves as a counterpoint to the sweet malts. Warming brings a soft fruity component that is quite unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. A solid brew.

Tap at Barcade: Extremely dark brown pour with ruby hints in the light. The light brown head is thin, but consistent. The aroma is amazing! Full of fresh ground coffee beans, chocolate, hazelnuts and caramel. The taste is no dissappointment, delicious. It holds up to the enticing aroma. Roasty chocolate malts, sweet caramel notes, lots of nuttyness, hazelnut coffee, all mesh perfectly in this buttery concoction. Finish is long, roasty and appetizingly nutty. Shane has made yet another beauty. An outstanding Porter.